To mark International Clinical Trials Day 2017,(opens in a new window) NICM is pleased to announce its 2017 symposium's theme, clinical trials in integrative medicine, emphasising herbal medicine, acupuncture and mind-body therapies.

Clinical trials are investigations that explore whether a medical strategy, treatment, drug or device is safe and effective for humans. Clinical trials in integrative medicine pose a unique challenge due to the complex nature of the interventions. The theme of this year's symposium highlights the challenges and opportunities of clinical trials in our sector, exploring novel clinical trial designs, strategies for translation of evidence into practice and promoting collaborations between relevant research institutes, practitioners in the community, industry and government organisations both nationally and internationally.

Bringing together leading researchers, clinicians, practitioners, research collaborators and industry decision makers from around the country, the symposium will discuss strategies and solutions to help develop and support an innovative integrative medicine sector in Australia.

NICM's 2017 Symposium: Clinical Trials in Integrative Medicine, Challenges and Opportunities, will take place on the 16 November 2017 at 1PSQ, Western Sydney University Parramatta City campus.

This forms part of NICM's ongoing series of symposia promoting and disseminating objective, high-quality, evidence-based information on natural and traditional medicine to enable better health choices for consumers and health professionals.